Know Your Rights if ICE Comes to Maryland

This page is information, not legal advice. Maryland enacted a ban on 287(g) agreements in February 2026 and the Community Trust Act in April 2026, significantly limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE. Several county sheriffs sued to block the Community Trust Act, which was set to take effect in June 2026 pending the legal challenge. ICE still operates independently in Maryland. Verify current conditions with CASA Maryland, the ACLU of Maryland, or a licensed immigration attorney.

Maryland has enacted two significant laws in 2026 to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. In February 2026, Governor Wes Moore signed an emergency 287(g) ban that immediately prohibited Maryland law enforcement agencies from entering, renewing, or maintaining formal cooperation agreements with ICE. In April 2026, the legislature passed the Community Trust Act, which goes further by limiting informal cooperation, barring local agencies from holding people for ICE without a judicial warrant, and prohibiting jail staff from asking about immigration status.

Nine Maryland county sheriff offices previously had 287(g) agreements with ICE - Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, St. Mary's, Washington, and Wicomico. Following the February 2026 ban, seven of those counties quickly notified ICE they were terminating their agreements. Some sheriffs publicly stated their intent to continue cooperating with ICE informally despite the 287(g) ban - the exact loophole the Community Trust Act was designed to close.

Several sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit in May 2026 challenging the Community Trust Act, with the law scheduled to take effect in June 2026. Governor Moore said he would not veto the legislation and that it would become law. The legal challenge was ongoing as of mid-2026. Families in Maryland need to know both the protections that exist and the contested nature of enforcement around them.

Part 1: Your rights under federal law - everywhere, including Maryland

These rights come from the U.S. Constitution. They apply in Maryland regardless of immigration status, citizenship, or how you entered the country.

At your front door

The Fourth Amendment protects your home from government entry without your consent or a judicial warrant. Two very different documents may come to your door.

A judicial warrant is signed by a federal judge, based on probable cause, and authorizes entry to a specific address. If ICE presents a valid judicial warrant with your correct address and a judge's signature, officers have legal authority to enter. Ask to see it through a closed door or window before opening.

An administrative warrant, typically ICE Form I-200 or I-205, is signed by an immigration officer, not a judge. An administrative warrant does not authorize ICE to enter your home without your consent. You do not have to open the door. Ask through the door which type of warrant they have. If it is administrative, you are not required to let them in.

During a traffic stop or street encounter

You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration history, or your status. You can say you are exercising your right to remain silent and want to speak to a lawyer. You can ask whether you are free to go. If the officer says yes, you may calmly leave.

Do not lie and do not provide false documents. Silence is a legal right. False statements are a separate crime. Many families carry a printed card asserting these rights.

At your workplace

ICE may enter public areas of a workplace without a warrant. Private, non-public areas generally require a judicial warrant or employer consent. You have the right to remain silent in any workplace encounter.

Do not sign anything without a lawyer

Documents presented during an ICE arrest may include voluntary departure agreements or stipulated removal orders that waive your right to a hearing before an immigration judge. Do not sign anything without speaking to an attorney first.

Part 2: The 287(g) ban - signed February 2026

Governor Moore signed two emergency bills into law on February 18, 2026, banning 287(g) agreements in Maryland. The legislation took effect immediately as emergency law.

The 287(g) ban prohibits Maryland state agencies and local law enforcement from entering into, renewing, or maintaining any agreements with ICE that deputize local officers to enforce federal immigration law. All existing 287(g) agreements were required to end by July 2026 at the latest, though most terminated within days of the signing.

Three counties - Cecil, Frederick, and Harford - had used the jail enforcement model, which screened people booked in county jails for immigration status and alerted ICE. Six counties - Allegany, Carroll, Garrett, St. Mary's, Washington, and Wicomico - used the more limited warrant service model, under which ICE was notified only when an active DHS warrant existed. Within days of the law's signing, seven of the nine counties sent letters to ICE terminating their agreements. The other two also terminated their agreements shortly after.

Some sheriffs were direct about their plans to continue cooperating informally. Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said publicly that he would continue working with ICE. Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins called the law wrong for Marylanders. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said his office was reviewing all options. This public resistance to the spirit of the 287(g) ban - continuing to notify ICE informally even without a formal agreement - was the explicit reason the Community Trust Act was introduced and passed.

Part 3: The Community Trust Act - passed April 2026

The Community Trust Act was passed by the Maryland General Assembly on the final day of the 2026 session and became law in May 2026 without Governor Moore's signature. It was set to take effect in early June 2026. The law closes the informal cooperation loophole that several sheriffs announced they would use after the 287(g) ban.

What the Community Trust Act prohibits

The Community Trust Act prohibits local law enforcement and correctional officers from holding someone for ICE without a judicial warrant, except in cases involving felony charges or registered sex offenders. Jail staff are barred from asking people in local custody about their immigration status. This ends the practice of informal detainer holds and informal ICE notifications that some sheriffs had announced they would continue after the 287(g) ban. It closes the gap between the formal 287(g) ban and day-to-day jail cooperation.

The sheriffs' lawsuit

Several Maryland county sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit in late May 2026 challenging the Community Trust Act as unconstitutional. The Federation for American Immigration Reform filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of the sheriffs against the governor, the state, and the attorney general. The lawsuit was pending as of mid-2026, with the law set to take effect in June. The legal challenge could affect which provisions of the Act are enforceable while the case proceeds. Verify the current status of the lawsuit and the law's implementation with the ACLU of Maryland or CASA Maryland before relying on the Community Trust Act's protections.

Part 4: The 2025 sensitive location law

In April 2025, Maryland enacted a law providing limited protection against immigration actions in sensitive locations, including churches, schools, and hospitals. The law was the compromise result of a failed 287(g) ban in the 2025 session. The bill originally would have banned 287(g) agreements, but the Senate stripped that provision. What remained was the sensitive location protection.

Under the 2025 law, certain enforcement actions in sensitive locations require additional legal authority. This protection was meaningful in the 2025 period before the stronger 287(g) ban took effect in 2026. Its continued operation alongside the newer 2026 laws is worth confirming with legal organizations.

Part 5: ICE still operates in Maryland

Maryland's protections limit what local law enforcement does. They do not limit ICE. Federal agents operate with full federal authority in Maryland and do not require cooperation from local police to make arrests, conduct surveillance, or execute enforcement operations.

The Kilmar Abrego Garcia case became a nationally known example of immigration enforcement error involving Maryland. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who had been living in Maryland for years, was deported to El Salvador in early 2025 despite a court order that should have protected him. His case moved through courts for months and became a symbol of administrative immigration enforcement mistakes and the limits of judicial protection when agencies act without compliance. His situation - a Maryland resident swept into enforcement despite legal protections - reflects the real and ongoing risk even in a state with strong protective laws.

Washington County, which borders West Virginia and Pennsylvania, has been an active enforcement area because of its geography and the history of the Washington County Detention Center's 287(g) agreement. Even as formal agreements end, families in rural western Maryland counties should understand that ICE operates independently in those areas.

Part 6: What to do right now, before anything happens

Know your A-number and make sure trusted family members have it written down. It is on any prior immigration document.

Know that under the 287(g) ban and Community Trust Act, Maryland local police and jails cannot formally process you for ICE or hold you without a judicial warrant. If a local officer asks about your immigration status during a jail booking, you can note that the Community Trust Act prohibits that inquiry - though do so calmly and without confrontation. Verify the current status of the lawsuit before relying on these protections.

Know that ICE operates independently of local law enforcement in Maryland and can conduct direct enforcement regardless of state law. The protections in Maryland's laws protect you from local police acting as ICE agents, not from ICE itself.

Identify an immigration attorney before you need one. CASA Maryland and the ACLU of Maryland are active resources. The University of Maryland and University of Baltimore law school immigration clinics also provide services.

Prepare guardianship documents for any children in your household. Set up a financial power of attorney so a trusted person can manage accounts and property if you are detained.

Part 7: Legal help and resources in Maryland

CASA Maryland is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in Maryland and was the primary advocate for the 287(g) ban and Community Trust Act. They provide direct services, legal referrals, and community organizing. Their website is wearecasa.org.

The ACLU of Maryland has been engaged on the sheriffs' lawsuit and Maryland enforcement issues. Their website is aclu-md.org.

CASA de Maryland and the Central American Resource Center serve immigrant communities throughout the state, particularly in Prince George's County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore.

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law immigration clinic and the University of Baltimore immigration clinic both provide immigration legal services.

Maryland's immigrant communities can also access services in multiple languages through the Governor's Office for Refugees and Asylees and through local county offices of community services.

For immigration court case information, call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. People detained by ICE in Maryland may be transferred to federal detention facilities in Maryland, Virginia, or other states. Call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024 if your person does not appear in the locator.

Immigration Advocates Network lists Maryland legal providers at immigrationadvocates.org.

Maryland enacted a 287(g) ban in February 2026 and the Community Trust Act in April 2026, limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE more comprehensively than almost any other state. Several county sheriffs immediately pushed back and sued to block the Community Trust Act, with the legal challenge ongoing as of mid-2026. ICE continues to operate independently in Maryland regardless of what local police can do. Your federal constitutional rights apply in full: an administrative warrant does not authorize entry to your home, your right to remain silent is unchanged, and you cannot be compelled to sign anything. Knowing the protections, knowing their contested status in court, and having CASA and the ACLU as contacts before a crisis are the foundations for protecting your family here.

This page reflects conditions as of mid-2026. The 287(g) ban took effect February 18, 2026. The Community Trust Act was set to take effect in June 2026, pending a federal lawsuit filed by Maryland county sheriffs. Verify the current status of both laws and the lawsuit with CASA Maryland or the ACLU of Maryland.